Harsha Puthussery and Nikhil Mulakkal hosted, what they call, a 100% green wedding reception for their friends and family in Thrissur in May 2023. And people are still talking about it. “Especially my dress,” laughs Harsha, “which was made of upcycled textile waste.” It was not easy to find a designer who could relate to her sensibilities, says Harsha, but she finally zeroed in on Hannah Liz Jacob in Mumbai, who created a unique dress out of fabric waste. “I got the dress just two days before the function, but I was happy,” she says.
The open-air event, which was held at Eco Garden resort in Cheruthuruthy, had sustainable decor, which included lanterns made of jute, bamboo baskets, a backdrop done in screwpine mats and mango leaves instead of flowers. The food was served in edible plates and the glasses used were steel. “We exchanged tulsi garlands so as not to order flowers,” she adds. She wore handloom for the main function and the invitation cards were made out of recycled water hyacinth fibre, by a Kerala-based student startup. Harsha and Nikhil also ensured that the food waste generated was managed responsibly.
Harsha is the founder of Iraaloom, a startup based in Alvua, which makes innovative products from natural materials and Nikhil is the founder of Zewa, a Thrissur-based company which rears black soldier flies to convert organic waste into sustainable protein feed for livestock farmers. “Even for people like us who work in the sustainability sector, planning a 100% sustainable wedding was challenging. But we would not have had it any other way,” she says.
The wedding was managed by Kozhikode-based Febinora Events, which specialises in curating green ceremonies. Fathima Febin, who started Febinora early this year, says she has been getting requests from clients on how to organise low-waste, conscientious events. “I have a client who says she does not want to wear makeup on her wedding day, as some of the products have animal derivatives,” says Febin.
Harsha’s and Nikhil’s wedding is the most recent of the green, ethical and sustainable trend in weddings. As eco-awareness grows , people are opting for intimate events, which aim at reducing carbon footprint.
When Narayan Sunil and Anwesha Behra decided to get married in 2022, they were emphatic that it should be a minimalistic affair without any frills. Gayatri Sunil, the bridegroom’s mother, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram, recalls that their guest list had only 25 people for the wedding in Benglauru. “We did away with events such as sangeet, haldi and so on, which have nothing to do with Kerala. My first cousins, my daughter Rukmini and her friends got together at home to apply mehendi. The gold neckpiece I gave Anwesha was a piece of mine that I refurbished for her. My daughter wore saris of mine for the wedding and reception. Anwesha wore a simple Kerala cotton sari.”
Gayatri did away with the videographer, event planner et al. The money she had set apart for the wedding has been used to sponsor the education of children from economically weak families.
Under the tree
In 2019, when John Pius and Rincy Abraham tied the knot, it was a talking point. They had invited only 50 guests. They sent out digital invitations and named their wedding ‘Under the Tree,’ as they got married under the canopy of an old tree in an ancient tharavadu (traditional kerala-style house). The couple did away with the concept of a stage and stood among their guests. They planted a sapling to mark the event choosing ayurjack, a jackfruit variety that bears fruit year-round. “This was to symbolic of how our love would thrive every day of the year,” adds John, who is now settled in Canada. The couple opted for a civil wedding, “driven by their desire to utilise the public system and leverage the Special Marriage Act”. They also opted for a vegetarian lunch.
Even though big, fat weddings are still pretty much the norm, there has been a conscious shift towards meaningful weddings that are rooted in certain values.
Harsha and Nikhil’s wedding clothes made of textile waste | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Over the years, we have had couples becoming more mindful of how they want to conduct their wedding. They feel it is a reflection of who they are and the life they are going to build together. So, starting with lab grown diamonds to wearing their mother’s sari to giving us their heirloom brass props, our clients are trying to do their part, and we are happy to help,” says Roshni Kurup, partner and creative director of The Hue Story, wedding curators, who have conducted weddings with sustainable elements, such as no-flower weddings, reusable florals arrangements given as takeaways to guests.
Screwpine decorative items | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“We are trying to tie up with gardens and nurseries to use potted plants directly for arrangements that can be returned after the event. If the clients insist on having flowers, then we try to plan around seasonal ones available locally. We try to convince our clients that it is not necessary to fly in flowers from Hungary to pull off a beautiful wedding. We have also tied up with farms, which take the biodegradable waste for compost,” adds Roshni.
From the point of view of the planner, hosting a completely sustainable wedding requires a lot of planning and hard work. “Since there are not too many players in the sector, you have to chart your own path. It can be challenging, but it is satisfying when you see that an event you organised has not left a load of plastic,” says Febin.
Edible straws from rice flour developed by Thooshan | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Edible tableware by Thooshan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Plantable cards
Sustainability can start from the invites itself. Digital invites aside, there has been a steady increase in enquiries about plantable cards, says Jose Valavi, owner of Valavi Cards that specialises in wedding invites. “In the past few years, we have been getting enquiries about handmade, recycled and wood-free paper cards. Of these, plantable cards seem to be be the most popular. Plantable paper contains seeds in it, which germinate when discarded in the soil,” says Jose. Cards made of recycled paper are also popular; wood-free paper, however, is imported, he adds. These cards cast cost up to ₹20 per card.
Decor items made of screwpine by KIDS Kottappuram | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Some may argue that a 100% sustainable wedding is expensive and impractical, it is the message that you are sending out that is important, says J Deepa, project head of the natural fibre department of Kottappuram Integrated Development Society (KIDS). Gaya, its brand, has been working with screwpine, creating a wealth of value-added products from bags to hampers, pouches, jewellery boxes, decorative items, mats and more. “Instead of spending on return gifts made of plastic, why not go in for eco-friendly options? It may be a tad more expensive than plastic, but you are promoting local economy and helping sustain a traditional craft,” she says. The backdrop of the stage was done in screwpine by Gaya at Harsha’s wedding.
Thooshan, a Kerala-based brand that manufactures edible cutlery, has catered to three weddings in Kerala (Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram), says Vinayakumar B, its founder. The plates, which costs ₹10 a piece, can be used as cattle feed and fish feed. “Though slowly, awareness is definitely going up,” says Vinayakumar. Recently, he got an ordere for 25,000 plates from a church in Puthuppally, Kottayam. “It has a farm attached to it and the plates could be used as manure after use,” he adds.
(With inputs from Saraswathy Nagarajan)
